


The (Insane) Duality of Song Mingi

by emberanne



Series: To the nights that turned into mornings, and the friends who turned into family [6]
Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Getting Together, M/M, mingi's duality, street dancer!mingi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:41:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22412653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emberanne/pseuds/emberanne
Summary: Song Mingi moved constantly.He moved in every sense of the word. His body was a vibrating ball of energy that never stopped moving, always bouncing or tapping or something as long as he was moving.He also spent more time in a moving van than anywhere else until his final year of high school. He moved at least once (sometimes twice) a year. He was the constant weird new kid who couldn’t stop fidgeting in his seat and didn’t have any friends.By the time his dad was finally settling into an office job and they wouldn’t have to move anymore, Mingi’s 17 and he’s never tried to make friends in school. At school, he was quiet and soft and said naive comments that made the classroom giggle. He was rather normal.The place for friends was the streets, in the crews that danced their hearts out. There, Mingi was cool and sexy and badass. He felt the music and himself and won almost every dance battle he came across. He was awesome.He’d never had someone know both sides of him.Enter Jeong Yunho.
Relationships: Jeong Yunho/Song Mingi
Series: To the nights that turned into mornings, and the friends who turned into family [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1586962
Comments: 8
Kudos: 245





	The (Insane) Duality of Song Mingi

Song Mingi moved constantly. 

He moved in every sense of the word. His body was a vibrating ball of energy that never stopped moving, always bouncing or tapping or something as long as he was moving. 

He also spent more time in a moving van than anywhere else until he turned 17. He moved at least once (sometimes twice) a year. He was the constant weird new kid who couldn’t stop fidgeting in his seat and didn’t have any friends. 

Making friends was nearly impossible. He couldn’t join any of the sports teams because he never knew when he would be pulled out to move again. He lacked the patience for most other after school clubs, simply because he had too much energy for them. As a result, Mingi spent a lot of time wandering around his new towns, sometimes with his brother but mostly on his own, his headphones plugged into his iPod playing whatever hip-hop remix his brother had made for him. 

He’s 13 when he finally finds his after school activity. He didn’t even mean for it to become an activity, it just sort of happened. 

There were some students from the other school in the area (Mingi could tell by their haphazard uniforms) that hung out outside Mingi’s favorite corner store and blasted music from a stereo the owner lent them. Mingi would stand on the steps of the corner store, look at them for a minute before going in and watching them through the window for another minute. Then he’d leave the store, stand on the steps for maybe two minutes looking at them, and then head on his way. 

He liked watching them freestyle, liked feeling the music vibrate in his chest and letting his feet move in tiny, incomplete footwork. Occasionally, he’d try mimicking something he’d seen one of them do once he was in the safety of his own room. (He was delighted to find that most of the time, the moves came easily to him.)

After a few weeks of staring, the shortest of the boys tapped Mingi on the shoulder when Mingi was leaving the store one day. 

“Why don’t you ever join in?” the boy asked bluntly. 

Mingi gaped a little, closing his mouth when his voice failed him. 

“We’re pretty friendly, we won’t bite,” the boy teased. “My name’s Yeo Hwanwoong, what’s yours?” 

“Song Mingi.” 

“Well, Song Mingi, why don’t you ever try hanging out with us?”

“I,” Mingi stopped. He breathed. “I don’t know.” 

“Huh, I was expecting you to say you were scared or something. I had this whole speech prepared,” Hwanwoong scratched his head, looking up at Mingi. Hwanwoong scanned him from head to toe, shrugged, and grabbed Mingi by the arm to pull him towards the other boys. “You look like you dance, got any training?” 

Mingi was only able to shake his head in response. 

“Good! It’s more fun that way!”

Hwanwoong pushed Mingi into the middle of the group, which shouted enthusiastically at Mingi, who felt petrified. 

“Just vibe!”

The deep shout was enough to shake Mingi out of his shock. He had nothing else to lose, right? May as well vibe.

Mingi vibed. He let the rhythm pulse in his heart, let it course through his veins. A few cautious movements at first, a wave sent from his left to his right, chest popping. It earned an enthusiastic shout from the others. 

Encouraged, Mingi let go. His feet flew, his body moved on its own. And when he felt awkward, he hopped out of the middle to some protesting shouts, although he was almost immediately replaced by the guy who told him to vibe in the first place. 

“Damn Mingi,” Hwanwoong grinned, punching his arm lightly. “You’re welcome to dance with our crew any time!”

Thus was Mingi’s introduction to street dancing, his new after school activity. He’d never had more fun before, always sprinting from school to meet the guys (who called themselves Oneus) at the corner and hang with them until he had to go home. He didn’t want it to end. 

Of course, it had to end. All good things do. Mingi’s life was being pushed into a moving van only a couple of months later. The guys came to say goodbye, Hwanwoong hugging Mingi last. 

“You’ll find another crew. Street dancers are always come and go, and crews are always welcoming. Don’t be afraid to join in, man, they’d be lucky to have you. And don’t forget you’ll always have a place in Oneus.” 

Oneus was his first crew, but certainly not his last. 

Every time Mingi moved, he found a new crew that was willing to welcome him, just like Hwanwoong said he would. With each crew, he picked up more and more moves that he added to his arsenal. 

He’s 14 when a teenager named Minghao teaches him how to breakdance and the guys in EXO show him how to  _ really _ body roll. He’s 16 when a girl called Yoojung shows him how to control his footwork and her best friend, Doyeon, teaches him how to use his height to his advantage. (They’re also the first people Mingi tried creating music with and to this day rapping with Yoojung is one of the best experiences he’s ever had.)

By the time his dad was finally settling into an office job and they wouldn’t have to move anymore, Mingi’s 17 and his phone is filled with numbers of street dancers from around the country. He’s in over a dozen group chats and his phone is constantly blowing up with the newest moves or the latest crack story. He’s happy. 

But he’s 17 and he’s never tried to make friends in school. He was a good student, he enjoyed studying the subjects that interested him, but school had always been a place to learn. At school, he was quiet and soft and said naive comments that made the classroom giggle. He was rather normal. 

The place for friends was the streets, in the crews that danced their hearts out. There, Mingi was cool and sexy and badass. He felt the music and himself and won almost every dance battle he came across. He was awesome. 

He’d never had someone know both sides of him. He’d never been friends with someone who knew more to him than his street dancing. How was he supposed to make someone like the normal side of him when no one ever had before? 

Enter Jeong Yunho. 

Yunho isn’t a street dancer, not in the way that Mingi is. But Yunho is a dancer, trained in ways that Mingi and his street dancing friends never could be. He first sees it when he’s vibing with a college crew that calls themselves Super Junior and Yunho taps in with an easy laugh to Leeteuk, shocking Mingi with how good his freestyle is. 

Mingi knew he wasn’t as good, but he could feel himself with this song, so he didn’t hesitate to step forward and challenge Yunho, the rest of the crew hollering. Mingi wins by break dancing, a card he normally doesn’t have to play to win, and Yunho smiles brilliantly at him when he does. 

Then Mingi sees Yunho in homeroom the next day and Yunho pulls a chair over to Mingi’s desk and eats lunch with him. They talk about music and dance and “where’d you learn those moves” are exchanged, followed by phone numbers. Mingi’s a little disappointed to find out that Yunho isn’t a regular, but the thought is pushed away when Yunho tells Mingi about the dance team that he’s the captain of and encourages Mingi to try out for. 

Mingi doesn’t audition, he keeps street dancing, but he and Yunho are inseparable from then on. 

There is no doubt in Mingi’s mind that Yunho is his best friend. Yunho means more to him than anyone else in the entire world. 

There is also no doubt in Mingi’s mind that he’s incredibly, obviously, pathetically gay for Yunho. 

Yunho hasn’t had his official gay awakening yet, Mingi can tell that much, but Mingi’s willing to wait to see if Yunho has one. 

When Yunho starts asking Mingi to spend the night in his bed after one long day where he had to solve all his friend’s problems, Mingi lets his heart skip a moment before agreeing. And when the invitation comes more and more often, and Yunho’s eyes start lingering and he starts pressing cautious kisses into the crown of Mingi’s head as they lie in bed together, Mingi allows himself to hope. 

God, Mingi knows that he’s so ridiculously whipped, but he can’t help it. Yunho has Mingi wrapped around his pinky finger. Mingi would do absolutely anything for Yunho. 

Which is why he agrees to rap for Yunho’s friend Hongjoong’s project and learn actual choreography for the first time in his life. 

Yunho’s the only one who knows about Mingi’s insane duality, about his badass street-dancing-rap-god persona that’s hidden under his soft, cuddly personality. Mingi likes it that way, he doesn’t like to mix those parts of his life. Only Yunho could make him do this. 

Fuck, Mingi is whipped. 

“It’s not going to be that bad,” Yunho soothes as they make their way through the music building. “Hongjoong’s really nice!”

“I’m so not ready for this,” Mingi complains. “Nothing I’ve written is good!”

“I’m sure Hongjoong will be more than willing to help you out,” Yunho intertwines their fingers as he speaks and Mingi feels his heart leap. “If not, your freestyle has always been pretty good.” 

“It’s not that good,” Mingi grumbles but doesn’t say anything else because he loves the feeling of holding Yunho’s hand. 

Yunho tsks softly but remains quiet as well. He guides them towards a door marked ‘recording studio eight’ and opens the door gently. “Hongjoong?” 

Mingi recognizes Hongjoong from the times where he’s come over to work on assignments with Yunho and Mingi hides in his room. The short, frosty haired boy is sitting in a chair, talking and laughing with a taller boy with dark hair who sits on the desk, holding a laptop behind his back. 

(It takes one look for Mingi to know that they’re into each other, if not dating.)

“Hey! You guys made it,” Hongjoong smiles easily at them. “Come on in. Hwa, give me my damn laptop back.” 

The other rolls his eyes and reluctantly passes the laptop back to Hongjoong as Yunho and Mingi shuffle in and sit on one of the couches. Mingi can’t help but let his eyes wander around the place, it’s a pretty nice studio. It looks professional and everything, Mingi had no idea something like this was on campus. 

“Is anyone else coming?” Yunho asks. Mingi drums his fingers against the back of Yunho’s hand nervously. 

“Ah, I think your friend San should be here soon. I think Yeosang and Jongho are coming to record after you,” Hongjoong says, counting the listed people on his fingers. 

“Wooyoung already recorded, so he won’t be here,” the tall boy (Hwa?) says, looking down at his phone. Pocketing the phone, he looks up and smiles at Mingi. “I’m Seonghwa, by the way. It’s nice to meet you, Mingi.” 

“Nice to meet you too,” Mingi says. Yunho squeezes his hand and Mingi tries to convince himself it’ll be okay. 

“By the way, Hongjoong, did you really have to pick Pirate King?” Yunho complains. 

“It’s a good song! Eden helped me a lot with it,” Hongjoong defends, throwing his hands up in exasperation. It is a good song, Mingi could totally agree with him on that. “For complaining, you have to go in first.” 

Yunho groans a little, but stands and moves toward the recording room. Seonghwa steals his place on the couch, and whispers to Mingi, “Secretly, I’m complaining about it too” and Mingi has to bite his tongue from laughing aloud. He can’t hide the small giggle that escapes. Seonghwa looks a little surprised but doesn’t say anything. 

Yunho is a natural at recording. He doesn’t look nervous at all, Mingi’s a little envious of him for that. The good thing about Yunho going first, however, is that Mingi can feel his rap coming together in his mind. He only hopes that Hongjoong likes it. 

Yunho doesn’t have to record as much as Mingi and is done by the time San enters. San’s entrance brings a hilarious conversation between San and Hongjoong, 

(“By the way, Jongho’s gonna be late because his friend Yeosang accidentally punched him in the throat while Jongho was teaching him to spar.”

“What the actual fuck. I need Jongho to sing and for that to happen I need Yeosang to not punch him in the throat.”)

But Mingi’s in the recording room with a racing heart not long after. 

“Eden told me that with most rappers, it’s best to just let them do what they want,” Hongjoong explains once he’s done chewing out Jongho and Yeosang over text. “So, just have some fun with it.”

Hongjoong cues the song and Mingi closes his eyes, taking a moment to breathe as he clutches the piece of paper with his lyrics on them. Mingi lets the opening take over, Yunho’s voice washing over him. He lets himself feel himself in the music and as he opens his eyes, he starts rapping, 

“ _Fix on, yeah_

_ Flip this game, get it _

_ I feel like somebody you get it  _

_ Sail on your feet until you reach the space _

_ I see the future face, zoom _

_ Anchor’s up gotta pass yeah  _

_ To the end I’m ready, _

_Come to me till the end._ ” 

Hongjoong stops the recording and Mingi looks up, waiting for feedback. He’s met with the shocked faces of Hongjoong, San, and Seonghwa (and the very proud face of Yunho) instead. 

“That was really good,” Hongjoong begins. 

“You sound so cool!” San screeches. “What the hell?”

“Thanks,” Mingi laughs. He’s feeling better now, totally more in his element since he’s let his street dancing persona take over. “Can we run it again?” 

Mingi’s recording is easier than he expected. Hongjoong complements his tone and annunciation, Seonghwa tells him that his signature is really cool (which makes Mingi ridiculously proud), and San continues to comment on how his mind has been blown. 

Yunho just smiles and says nothing. He’s known about Mingi’s insane duality all along. 

“What did you think?” Mingi asks Yunho when they finally leave the studio, San staying behind to finish his recording. 

“Of your rap?” Yunho confirms, a small smile on his face. Mingi nods. “It was really cool, you looked badass.” 

“Good,” Mingi nods, feeling satisfied. “Cool Mingi was able to save the day for Normal Mingi yet again.” 

“What are you talking about?” Yunho asks, laughing slightly. 

“You know,” Mingi says, trailing off at Yunho’s curious look. “It’s just, I’m two different people. I’m the me that I am with our friends and in class and stuff, and there’s the me that street dances and raps. They’re two completely different Mingis.”

Yunho frowns a little and stops Mingi in the hallway, threading their fingers together. 

“That’s not who you are to me,” Yunho tells him. Mingi’s heart thumps loudly in his chest. “To me, you’re just Song Mingi. There’s no cool or uncool or more normal version, there’s just Mingi. My Mingi.” 

Mingi almost chokes, but he keeps it in and he holds Yunho’s eyes and does his best to make sure he doesn’t melt on the spot.

“Your Mingi?” 

It’s a loaded question. Mingi knows it. Yunho knows it. He has to know it. He has to know what this means to Mingi. Unconsciously, Mingi finds himself leaning forward, and Yunho leans forward as well, letting their foreheads bump together softly as Yunho smiles fondly. 

“Yes, my Mingi.” 

And Mingi knows that the wait was worth it. 

**Author's Note:**

> Full disclaimer: I know nothing about street dancing other than the people I see busking in the streets of NYC. But the idea of street dancing Mingi just jumped out at me one day and I've been dying to share it ever since. Like, I've had this mostly done since I finished Seonghwa's piece, so I've been waiting for so long. I really hope it's enjoyable, even though it's a bit of a departure from the mundane lives the rest of the boys have led in my works so far. 
> 
> (Side note: I'm so, so sorry about having to write Mingi's opening rap for Pirate King in English. Like, if I knew Korean I would put the Korean but also I didn't put the Korean in Yeosang: Computer Genius so here we are. Also, I don't mean to erase or discredit Eden in any way, but it works better for him to be this faceless grad student that helps Hongjoong with songs rather than try to introduce him to the story.)
> 
> But yeah! Yunho and Mingi are so cute to me and I love the little head twirl thing they do and I felt weird writing a romance between them but also it was like, not in your face, so hopefully, you guys liked it! Thanks as always for reading. There's only two more stories left (Hongjoong and Wooyoung, who will be next) and maybe an epilogue. I have no idea when it'll all be posted though lmao, I don't have anything written so far. Still, I hope you guys look forward to it!


End file.
